Bumper switch



Dec. 26, 1939- H. E. WILLIAMS ET AL 2,184,868

BUMPER SWITCH Filed March 31. 1959 Qndon A .fluz'an INVENTORS.

New ATTORNEY.

m Haz'zyl Williams Patented Dec. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES BUMPER SWITCH Harry E. Williams and Lyndon A. Durant, Chicago, 111.

Application March 31, 1939, Serial N0.'265,117 8 Claims; (01. 200-52) This invention has as its principal object the provision of an improved bumper switch for use in amusement apparatus such as bagatelle games and the'like which include a playing surface over which a ball or other projectile is propelled for engagement with various rebound devices and hazards, the bumper switch of the present in vention constituting such a rebound device or hazard.

Viewed from another aspect, the invention provides an improved bumper switch which is of simplified construction and adapted to be as-. seinbled as a uniti'or convenient and expeditious mounting on the playing board.

15. A particularobject of the invention is the provision or an improved bumperswitch includan elongated support adapted to be mounted in upright position on a playing board, a coil spring pendently mounted from an upper end or the support so as to ireely surround the same,

the support being conductive toestablish electricsl contact with the spring and there being a second conductive sleeve contact surrounding the lower portion of the support carried by the latter on insulation means mounted on the support, the lowermost end of the spring being looped to surround the second contact sothat the spring may be pushed towardthe support from any radial direction to complete a circuit 319 throu h the spring and the second contact sleeve. A to. her object is the provision of means for establishing electrical connection with the second sleeve contact.

Other objects and advantages peculiar tothe invention reside in certain details of construct on and the arrangement of parts described l einafter in view of the annexeddrawing, in

which: I

Fig. l is a perspective view of a bumper switch 40 mounted on a playboard;

2 is an partly sectionalized, exploded perspecti e of the device of Figl;

3 is a vertical section along line 3-4 or" l and including a circuit diagram; while Fig. 4 is ahorisontal section along line 46 of 3. In general. the preferred form of the device shown in Fig. 1 includes a coil spring ii) pendently mounted from its upper portions on upri ht mountpost H which is seated in the pl yboard ill to extend at right angles to e upper surface. there being a suitable dome or ca it of plastic 3. other material soc sod a finish piece to the upper end of the post. The mounting post H is conductive and is provided with a second contact sleeve hlwhich is fitted over an insulating sleeve i5 (Figs. 2 and 3) with its lower end portion resting on a combination mounting and contact plate iii. The lowermost end of the conductive spring Ill is 5': turned back to provide a central contact eye or loop ll which loosely surrounds the second contact member or sleeve i l. By pressing against the spring, the contact loop ll may be made to engage the contact sleeve l4 and complete a 10 circuit for any kind of signal device andcontrol mechanism utilized in conjunction with the amusement apparatus which employs the playboard l2. r

'In its more detailed structural features as shown in' Fig. 3, the mounting post Ii has a reduced shank portion Ha which fits through theinsulating sleeve 55 and extends with the latter through'the board 12 for engagement with anmunting nut it. The juncture of the shank 2.

portion with the main upper part ll of the post provides a shoulder lib which bears against an insulating washer it, which in turn bears against the insulating sleeve 15 and the outer contact sleeve it so that when the mounting nut i8 is .5 drawn up, the lower end of the sleeve i l will be tightly drawn against the contact plate IS. The contact plate 16 serves both as a means for establishing electrical connectionwith the sleeve M and as a means. of stabilizing the mounting 3 of the entire unit on the board to prevent the lower end of the sleeve from biting into the latter. In someinstallations the plate It may be omitted and. connection established directly with i the sleeve M. Electrical connection with the 5 second or sleeve contact may be established by a conductor which is passed loosely through a holes! cut in the board and has its end portion soldered or otherwise secured to the under side of the plate 16. In order to assure good 40 electrical contact the lower contact loop I l of the pendent spring is provided with a conductive grommet Ila (Figs. 2 and 3). p

. The assembly of the bumper unit is completed by the provision of a central loop 25 at the upper end of the spring and which is adapted to fit over the threaded upper end lie of the past as against a stabilizing mounting plate 2'6 which rests against the shoulder formed between the main part of the post It and the reduced I threaded portion Me. A clamping washer Zl is fitted against the central mounting loop 25 so as to clamp the latter against the plate 26 and the shoulder on the post when the. dome piece or cap l3 has its threaded bore l3a turned onto the end He of the post.

As illustrative of one application of the device for control purposes in an amusement ap-- paratus, the circuit diagram of Fig. 3 is depicted and includes an electrically energized instrument'ality such as the relay 30 connected by a conductor 3! to a connecting lug 32 engaged on the lower end of the mounting post by the nut .;l8. The remaining terminal of the relay is connected by conductor 33 to one side of a power source or battery 34, the remaining terminal of the battery being connected by conductor 35 to the lead 20 soldered to the mounting plate I6.

In operation, as shown in Fig. 3, a ball 36 rolling over the board l2 may engage the side of the spring Ill and move the latter in a radial direction toward the mounting post so as to cause the central contact ring portion ll-lla to bear against the sleeve l4, thus closing a circuit which leads via conductor 3! through the post II, the upper end loop 25 of the contact spring and through the lower loop contact portion |1--lla, the sleeve 14, the mounting plate It, conductors 20-35, and the battery so as to energize the relay 30 so long as the ball urges the contact loop against the second sleeve contact. Prefer ably, the resiliency of the spring is calculated to efiect a more or less positive rebound of the ball therefrom to enhance the bumper action of the device.

The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized in variant forms of the particularly described illustrative embodiment, and the invention is therefore not confined to the details recited herein for purposes of explanation except as may be provided in the appended claims.

- Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A bumper switch including a conductive mounting post adapted to be mounted in upright position on a playing surface, a conductive sleeve mounted to surround a portion of said post in insulated relation with the latter, a conductive coil spring mounted at its upper end at the upper end portion of said post so as to surround the latter loosely for movementsin a substantially radial sense toward the post, the lower end portion of said spring having a centrally disposed loop loosely surrounding said conductive sleeve on the post and normally out of contact with the latter, said loop contacting said sleeve to complete an electrical circuit when the spring is moved a predetermined amount toward the post.

2. A bumper switch including a conductive mountingpost adapted to be mounted in an upright position on a playboard, an insulating sleeve arranged on said post, a conductive sleeve contact fittedonto saidinsulatingsleeve, a conductive spring pendently mounted from one of its ends on the upper end portion of said post and loosely surrounding the latter, a lower end portion of said spring being turned back upon itself to provide a central contact loop loosely surounding said contact sleeve and normally spaced out of contact with the latter, said post and sleeve being adapted for connection in a control circuit which is closed by movement of the spring toward the post a predetermined amount to came said contact loop to bear against the sleeve.

3. A bumper switch including a conductive post having a shoulder formed between its ends, a portion thereof at one side of said shoulder constituting a mounting shank adapted to extend into a mounting surface, an insulating sleeve on said mounting shank, a conductive sleeve fitted over said insulating sleeve and bearing against means providing an insulating spacer between an end of the conductive sleeve and said shoulder on the post, a conductive mounting plate fitted over said insulating sleeve against an opposite end of said conductive sleeve and adapted to rest on said mounting surface, the portion of said shank extending into said mounting surface being drawn tightly into the latter whereby said conductive sleeve is clamped tightly between said conductive plate and the shoulder portion of the post, said post and plate being adapted for connection in a control circuit, said post having a shoulder portion at its end opposite said shank, a conductive coil spring clamped between members mounted on said last-mentioned shoulder portion so as to be suspended pendently in loosely surrounding relation to the post, said spring having an end portion looped loosely around said conductive sleeve and normally out of contact with the latter and adapted to be engaged with the conductive sleeve to close said circuit by pressure applied to the spring in a direction toward the post.

4. In a bumper switch of the type including a mounting post adapted for mounting in an upright position on a mounting surface and a conductive coil spring pendently mounted from an upper end of the post to surround the latter loosely, contact means including a conductive sleeve member and means insulatingly mounting the same on said post in the region of the end of said spring opposite its pendent mounting, said end of the spring being looped to freely surround said sleeve out of contact therewith, pressure applied against said spring in a direction toward said post being effective to move the spring and cause said loop to bear against said sleeve'and establish electrical connection therewith, said post and sleeve being adapted for connection in a control circuit.

5. A device of the class described including a conductive mounting post having a reduced shank portion, an insulating washer fitted over said shank portion against the shoulder formed between the juncture of the latter and the remaining part of the post, an insulating sleeve fitted over said shank against said washer, a conductive sleeve fitted over saidinsulating sleeve against said washer, said shank portion being arranged and constructed to extend into a mounting member to urge said conductive sleeve against said washer and secure the post in a predetermined mounted relation with said member, and a conductive coil spring pendently mounted from the end portion of said post opposite said shank and a contact ring arranged at an end of said spring to surround said sleeve in normally spaced relation thereto, said spring being movable in a general direction toward said post to cause said ring to engage said conductive sleeve to close a control circuit through the conductive sleeve, spring and post.

6. A device of the class described including a conductive mounting post having a shoulder formed thereon between its ends, a conductive sleeve on the mounting post and means on said post insulating said sleeve from the post and shoulder, movement of said sleeve in one axial direction on the post being limited by said shoulder, a conductive coil spring pendently mounted from one of its ends on an end portion of said post remote from said sleeve, said spring having a contact ring portion formed at its on posite end and normally surrounding said sleeve in spaced relation thereto, pressure against said spring in the general direction of said post being effective to move said contact ring into conductive engagement with the sleeve to close a control circuit, connections with said control circuit being established through said post and conductive sleeve.

7. A bumper switch including a standard, a helical contact spring mounted on the standard with its convolutions surrounding the same in spaced relation thereto and arranged to yield to a pressure applied thereto in a direction generally toward the standard, stationary contact means carried by said standard and extending around the same substantially concentrically of said standard and helical spring and near an end of the latter, and contact means arranged at said end of the spring around said stationary contact means normally out of engagement therewith and adapted to conductively engage the same when said helical spring is moved toward the standard as aforesaid, said contact means on "the spring and said stationary contact being adapted for connection in a control circuit. a

8. A bumper switch including a supporting post, a conductive coil spring and means mounting the same with convolutions surrounding said post in spaced relation therewith for movement of said convolutions in a general direction toward the post, contact means arranged around said post near an end of said spring, and a second contact means arranged at said end of the spring to surround said first-mentioned contact means in normally spaced relation thereto and adapted to conductively engage said first-mentioned contact means when pressure is exerted. against any of said convolutions in a direction generally toward said. post.

HARRY E. WILLIAMS. LYNDON A. DURANT. 

